Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Mars Needs Box Office

“Mars Needs Moms” may lead to the end for the Zemeckis style of motion-capture filmmaking, which has proven increasingly unpopular with audiences. Unlike the digital animation used by Pixar, in which movies are created entirely by computer, the Zemeckis technique requires actors to perform on bare sets while wearing uniforms outfitted with sensors to record their movements. Those movements are then transferred into a digital model that computer animators use to create a movie.

Critics and audiences alike, with audiences voicing their opinions on Twitter, blogs and other social media, complained that the Zemeckis technique can result in character facial expressions that look unnatural. Another common criticism is that Mr. Zemeckis focuses so much on technological wizardry that he neglects storytelling.

9 comments:

Wade
said...

I'd offer a couple of thoughts:

1) I was originally interested in taking my kids to see this movie until I noticed the other night that it's only being offered in 3D at our theaters, and quite frankly the higher price of 3D coupled with my not having ever been impressed by 3D yet, made the decision not to bother quite easy. Mind you, this was based on factors entirely separate from the quality of the film itself (truthfully, the trailer rather intrigued me a bit).

2) I find it interesting that when new tech movies do great, critics say it's only the technology that's attracting people and not the storytelling (ala Avatar), but when they do poorly the tech is all of a sudden getting in the way. My own feeling is the tech doesn't matter nearly as much as we think, and that great story and characters will attract an audience. And I give the audience a lot more credit than do the critics in determining what good storytelling actually is. So I'd guess the comment in the article on storytelling in the film to be the more "telling" critique.

As I recall Zemeckis' previous motion capture film "A Christmas Carol" flopped and everyone also blamed it on tech. But I didn't bother with it simply because I'd seen the story in dozens of different iterations in my life already and felt no real compulsion to see it yet again. Did anyone factor that element into the mix?

I guess my main point is to say I think there may be other, larger factors at play than simply tech.

I hate where the article says "Unlike the digital animation used by Pixar, in which movies are created entirely by computer..." While trying to account for the unpopularity of motion capture films, the author makes it sound like a much more organic and "human" process than keyframed animation.

I've heard this line from Brad Bird on the 2 disc set of the Incredibles.."Animation is about caricature" and i think this is one of the factors why Pixar's films are popular. Although some people would say that animation is just the same as a normal live action film except that it's animated (either on paper or in the computer) and the characters can do stuff freely unlike live action and the process would likely be the same but i firmly believe that animation is more than just that..and Zemeckis i would say in my opinion doesn't have a good grasp of it..an animation artist had an opinion regarding animation in general he sad. "Don't show me what a tree looks like, but rather show me how a tree looks interesting". if Zemeckis puts that line into his heart and soul then i guess there'd be a huge improvement in his next foray into the animation medium.

And, I agree with Pete. The look of these film totally turn me off even before I get to the story.

Animation as a medium has a unique charm. More often than not, these live-action guys simply don't get it. They're hopelessly clueless. Robert Zemeckis' films fail, and I'm convinced he has no idea why.

About Me

I've worked as an animator, writer, producer and director in TV animation for 29 years. I created the cgi series Monster By Mistake.
I hold a Masters degree from York University in Cinema and Media Studies and am currently teaching animation at Sheridan College.
I can be contacted at mark(dot)mayerson(at)sheridancollege(dot)ca.